Netanyahu back in Biden’s good graces, expected at White House ‘soon’
Blinken subpoenaed to release cable warning of ‘imminent’ Taliban victory in Afghanistan
Iran extends invitation to Saudi King
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian disclosed on 27 March that the Islamic Republic has extended an invitation to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to visit Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister revealed Tehran’s request during an interview with Al Jazeera TV, adding that the Saudi monarch already invited Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi for a visit to the kingdom.
This development comes weeks after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the resumption of diplomatic relations after a series of secret talks held in Beijing between Tehran and Riyadh.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh were severed in 2016, after Riyadh executed prominent Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, and Iranian demonstrators attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the eastern city of Mashhad in response.
During the interview, Amir-Abdollahian further remarked, “there is a law proposal in parliament to put a ceiling on the nuclear negotiations, and the door to dialogue will not remain open,” in reference to Tehran’s consistent commitments to cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The foreign minister also affirmed Iran’s appreciation for Qatar’s role in assisting Tehran in reviving the nuclear talks under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement, as Doha is currently relaying messages between Iran and other member nations of the 2015 nuclear deal, in a bid to resume the stalled talks.
Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA – Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany held several rounds of negotiations in Vienna in 2021 to restore the agreement, which former US President Donald Trump abandoned in May 2018 to exert “maximum pressure” on Tehran; however, talks came to halt in 2022.
Doha and Tehran currently strive to boost bilateral cooperation, with both signing 14 agreements last year intended to strengthen ties in various educational and economic sectors, including tourism.
The strengthening of bilateral ties between the two also materialized in Qatar’s vocal support for reviving JCPOA.
